LANDSCAPE HISTORY AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL SYSTEMATICS OF THE DELAWARE VALLEY

The Late Quaternary geomorphic history of the Delaware Valley is among the best documented in the Middle Atlantic region. Floodplain morphology is relatively straightforward, dictated by structural controls that have created a terrace system and alluvial sequences defined by vertical rather than lateral vectors. Physiographic transitions within the valley are abrupt and account for dramatic soil sequences that can be traced the length of the valley. Stratified archaeological components articulate systematically with marker soil horizons and discrete floodplain facies. This presentation synthesizes the geomorphic history the length of the valley and presents a model of archeological site expectations based on relationships between soils and landforms that have been carefully dated. Comparisons with geoarchaeological sequences elsewhere in Pennsylvania isolate landscape dynamics of regional and extra-regional significance.